Hi – Hope you’re having a great day. … Every once in a while, I read “one of those stories”. About a great person putting their own pain aside for the sake of the Jewish People. It was about Rabbi Eli Meir Bloch, one of the great Torah scholars of the 20th Century. He was […]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. … I recently had one of those “remember the miracle of Israel” moments. And I wanted to share it with you. Friends of mine went toIsraelfor a very special event. Their son Yaakov was being inducted into the Israeli Army. They told me how proud they were. And how moving […]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. This Torah Minute is about someone who has always been an important part of my life. My Uncle Jack Ratz. There was one thing about him that was unique in our family. My parents and my aunts and uncles were all born and raised in America. But Uncle […]

Hope you’re having a great day. And before going on? Please register for next Tuesday’s “Living Life to Its fullest workshop”. And come away with the tools to help make your days even better!  www.torahnetwork.org/htm/regsiter.htm … This period in the Jewish calendar is known as the “three weeks”. A period of semi mourning leading up […]

Hope you’re having a great day. Wednesday night is Tisha B’av, the one day set aside in Jewish tradition for mourning. We try to connect to the suffering of Jews throughout history. To feel their pain as well as to be inspired by their strength. How despite what they went through, they held on to […]

Hi, I hope you had a meaningful and enjoyable Passover. … Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how important it is to remember. And to make sure the world never forgets!. Especially with what happened yesterday in Switzerland… Mahmud Ahmadinejad was given a platform at the U.N […]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. … It’s time to talk matzah! And here’s an amazing story. It was in a DP (Displaced Persons) camp, shortly after liberation. One of the survivors arranged the baking of matzah for Passover. Supplies were very limited and the matzah was rationed. Two matzos per family. A great […]

Hi, In the Torah Minute, I stay away from “politics”. Completely! And I don’t usually comment on the passing of public officials. But Rep. Tom Lantos, who passed away recently, was unique. “He’s been referred to as “the moral authority of congress”. Tom created the Congressional Human Rights Caucus to fight human rights abuses all […]

Last Tuesday was Tisha B’av, the one day set aside in Jewish tradition for mourning. I led a service in which we tried to connect to the suffering of Jews throughout history. We tried to feel their pain as well as to be inspired by their strength. How despite what they went through, they held […]

… Of course, the news has been focusing on the tragedy at Virginia Tech. And I wanted to make sure that you knew about a “ray of light” that was reported. It was a man named Liviu Librescu. Doctor Librescu, a Holocaust survivor, was a professor at Virginia Tech. And he gave up his life […]